Hanging in the Balance
by HipsterSonic
Summary: Dr. Robotnik becomes the unwitting hero after accidentally changing the future.
1. Stalemate

HipsterSonic Presents:

Hanging in the Balance

Prologue: Stalemate

"You're one hundred percent sure that there is no door _anywhere_?" Robotnik sighed, mentally exhausted from fighting with himself. His small, beady eyes were sore from staring at the white world around him, and his brain hurt from trying to think of ways to avoid becoming the person seated in front of him.

"For the last time, yes, I am certain there are no doors around here," Eggman shook his head disdainfully. It was hard to believe he had been such a fool not that long ago…surely he had been smarter than this!

"If I were you…which I am, I wouldn't patronize me," Robotnik warned. "Any moment you could blip out of existence assuming I ever find a way out of this limbo and change the future."

Eggman bit his lip. So maybe he wasn't that stupid after all.

"I wouldn't get too cocky, Robotnik," he growled at himself. "I'm the future you, and I can read all your thoughts." The younger him widened his eyes behind his blue glasses.

"But…how? That's impossible!"

"I simply have to remember," Eggman smirked, "I was once you, after all." His devious grin suddenly faded. "Hey! I am not _that_ fat."

His younger counterpart chuckled and turned away. "You know… I think I will become a teacher once I get out of this place," he said after a while. "I do enjoy telling people what to do…"

"Ah, but you would change the whole future with that decision," Eggman warned himself with a disapproving glace. "Fighting Sonic is your destiny, our destiny. You should just embrace it."

"I might change your future, but what if your future wasn't meant to be? Maybe it was your future's destiny for it to be replaced by the _real _destiny, mine." Robotnik looked at his shoes. "And besides…what if I don't want fighting Sonic to be my destiny anymore," he murmured. "We never win anyway."

Eggman slowly bowed his head, having recalled the new memories that were forming each minute. "I see your logic; you make an impeccable argument."

"So then you approve of our new and inevitable future?" Robotnik saw Eggman close his eyes. The older villain looked defeated.

"You should most definitely pursue what we have always aspired to be…but what will become of myself? Will I die?"

There was silence for a short and long time before Robotnik spoke.

"There is no saying as to what will happen to you…although I'm astounded that this whole ordeal hasn't disrupted the space-time continuum."

"Then I will remain here assuming that you ever find a way out," Eggman stated. "I can follow the alternate future through my memories; they will surely keep me entertained. Come now, we have to find your way home."

The two continued their search, but they no longer fought. After what could have been seconds, days, months, or years, Robotnik sat down with a thump.

"It's no use," he sighed, resigned. "We're trapped here for all eternity."

Eggman sat down next to himself and closed his eyes.

"Do you remember that day…that day in spring when our allergies weren't so bad?" He murmured.

The doctor watched his own eyes slowly light up. "And we felt so free…like we could do anything!"

"It was after that big storm, wasn't it? When all the pollen had been blown away."

"And mother couldn't stop smiling because I was so happy."

"I would never forget that day," they said together as they looked at each other. Suddenly something turned within both of them as they remembered the feeling of freedom. What a beautiful feeling that was!

Their stomachs suddenly froze as they turned over a disturbing thought in their minds. Eggman's face became deathly pale as he turned to face his counterpart.

"I loved that feeling so much…" Robotnik whispered.

"How could I ever have been so stupid-" Eggman continued in a hushed voice.

"-to try to take that away from everyone else!" they finished. There was a presumably long silence after that.

"All those years we thought that that hedgehog was a fool for stopping us."

"He will always be a fool, just maybe not for that reason," corrected Eggman.

"It must be lovely to feel a breeze against your skin all the time. He must feel as free as the wind the way he runs." Robotnik turned to face his future self. "I will do everything in my power to right my past…and future wrongs if I ever get out of here. I will no longer try to take over the world." He grinned smugly. "I'll just take over the next generation's minds instead!"

As the younger genius was plotting his future, he caught sight of Eggman's eyes widen. He began to look around the white space as though he had lost something while giggling to himself.

"Do you feel that…there's a breeze blowing!" he called. "Help me find the source, it could be the way-" The doctor was cut off mid-sentence. Robotnik quickly whipped around, wondering what was wrong. He rushed to his future self's side.

There was a sky-blue diamond in the ground about the size of a rug. It had a few clouds in it. A small breeze and the sound of the wind rustling in the trees was a sight for sore eyes and skin. Sunlight filtered in through the dimensional hole.

Eggman nodded solemnly toward his younger self. "Go. I'm afraid I will not be able to assist you."

Robotnik knit his thick eyebrows together. "If you say so, Eggman. It has been…interesting meeting you." He paused. "But…I don't know where this portal will take me. Only goodness knows where I might end up!"

Eggman frowned. "It appears that that is the only way out, unless you want to keep searching for another way that might not exist. Besides, we don't know how long this portal will stay open for."

Robotnik sighed and glanced at his future self. "I will do my best to pursue our dreams. Who could have guessed that my childhood aspirations were the ones I wanted all this time?"

"One more thing," Eggman continued quietly. "Please make sure you don't adopt the name Eggman in the future…it is most degrading."

His younger self smirked, "yes, I was wondering about that."

With one last salute to Eggman, the young scientist hopped through the portal and disappeared.

* * *

><p>"Hello? Mobius University? Yes… this is Ivo Robotnik. No, I'm not here to try to get a grant this time. I was just wondering if you had any positions open in the math or science departments."<p>

The doctor paused, waiting expectantly for an answer.

"You do? That's fantastic!"


	2. White Gloves

**Chapter One: White Gloves**

**Note: I'd like to thank anyone who has stuck by me thus far…and it's only the 2nd chapter. Thank you for putting up with me, I really do appreciate it. I'll try to get the next chapter up by the end of this month, but we all know the likelihood of that... ^_^; Anywho, please enjoy this chapter.**

Sonic couldn't recall a time when his head had hurt more. He tried to focus his pounding skull into recalling what went on last night. As his blurry, migraine-inducing vision attempted to focus, his mind was plunged into an even deeper confusion as he saw his surroundings resembled an…office?

The hungover hero tried to keep his eyes open long enough for them to focus, but to no avail. Even though the room was dim, the small bit of light that leaked through the blinds sent a heavy wave of pain and nausea through his already weakened body.

The hedgehog tried once more to peek open his right eye, and this time he was rewarded with a small victory: a quick glimpse of the room. Hard wood floors, teak furniture, it looked expensive. The floor to ceiling windows were covered with silky curtains that swayed gently in the air conditioner's breeze (it was a record-breakingly hot summer, after all). The room smelled faintly of cigars. Bookshelves lined the walls and there was an official-looking display case on the desk, not inches from his nose, that housed the purple chaos emerald.

Sonic's first reaction was to open his bright green eyes in shock and confusion at the emerald, but he immediately regretted this as the room began to spin. The hedgehog struggled to swallow down the bile gathering in his throat. He tried to grasp at his neck only to discover that his sore arms were restrained to the chair in metal cuffs. He would have gritted his teeth in annoyance, but every ounce of his willpower was currently dedicated to preventing himself from throwing up. Just the thought of the word made his stomach churn.

At last, save for the terrible pounding of his head, Sonic regained enough of his composure to open his eyes and cough a few words to his kidnapper.

"Eggman," he choked out, panting heavily. "What do you want this time? What happened last night?"

The large, cliché swivel chair on the other side of the desk turned one hundred and eighty degrees. Sonic closed his eyes before he could see who was sitting there, but he was already confident enough in his guess.

"You certainly know how to make a headline." Sonic's ears shot up and he opened his eyes in surprise. That voice…it was not Eggman's. "Were you expecting someone else?" the voice rasped. "That old fool quit the business a year ago! I hear he's holed up in some University teaching kids how to make useless robots," he continued.

Sonic's pounding brain went into overdrive. A party. That's why he was hung over. He was at Rouge's club…Sonic squinted and urged himself to remember more. They were celebrating Eggman's premature retirement…that's right! But, how did he end up in this office? Sonic shook his head clear and opened his eyes. He was taken aback by who he saw sitting across from him.

This cat didn't fit in with the luxurious surroundings, although he made an obvious effort. A large number of scars littered the feline's face; a set of claw marks went through his left eye, but his pupil still glinted darkly.

"I got that one from my ex-girlfriend after she found out I had a wife," the cat snickered after noticing Sonic's look of horror. "She had an unfortunate accident the next day. An interesting choice of footwear that one had…cement is neither functional nor fashionable when one goes for a swim. Clara, would you be a dear and bring me the paper please," he ordered in a voice that bore the brunt of many years of cigarettes and cigars. Sonic saw a lithe, black cat bringing the paper and unceremoniously dropping it on the desk before his nose. He slammed his eyelids shut.

"Can't you open your eyes?" the raspy voice inquired.

"I don't think after a night like _that_ he'll be opening them anytime soon," the cat secretary purred while gesturing towards the first page. "You seem to have a knack for getting yourself into trouble, _hero._"

Sonic squinted his eyes open and waited for his them to focus. "Although," the boss continued, "I'm quite curious as to why such a celebrity would borrow money from someone like _me._"

The hedgehog's stomach lurched as he glanced towards the front page of the paper. He realized there was more to this than just getting drunk at a party; how much money could he possibly have borrowed? His mouth suddenly opened. Cement shoes. That scar. The rich surroundings. The chaos emerald in front of him. Loaned money. Sonic's heart began to beat wildly in his chest. It wasn't a bank he had borrowed the money from, _it was the mafia. _

"Please," he panted, trying to ignore his pounding head. "I'll pay you back. With interest, even. I promise, please."

"Like I haven't heard that one before," the boss chuckled. "You're funny, kid. You don't even have the slightest inkling of what dangers lie beneath the waters you're treading in." He paused to gesture at the front page of the paper.

"Role model no more?" screamed the headline. A picture of Sonic drunkenly tossing dice with Amy draped around his neck spanned the front page. "Sonic the Hedgehog loses millions and some of his fans with his newfound partying nature," read the caption. Suddenly the night came rushing back to him. He'd needed money, and Amy had talked him into it…

Sonic's eyes widened.

Amy.

"Where is she," the hedgehog growled.

"You'll find that she and that little fox of yours are the least of your problems right now," the mob boss chuckled. "I've got them locked up safe and sound, and they won't be freed until you pay off your debt."

"But…I don't have any money," the hedgehog whispered. A grim smile spread across the old cat's face.

"No worries, my boy. After all, there is more than one way for you to pay off your debt," he cackled. "However, you may need to dirty those white gloves of yours."

Before their conversation could continue, Sonic's stomach had had enough, and the hedgehog unleashed a torrent of vomit right at his new boss's face before promptly fainting.

Well, at least his gloves weren't white anymore.


End file.
